A Wolf's Howl, A Fairy's Wing

Sighing, Erik wondered what was happening now. Having left Leila behind, he started making his way to where their bond told him Astrid was located. She'd refused to tell him anymore, but since Astrid didn't sound particularly distressed, he wasn't hurrying.

A few minutes later, he arrived in the hallway that led to Naeku's room. It was here, in the hallway and surrounding rooms, that most of the planning was happening, but he was surprised by what he found. Rather than being busy with the wedding plans, everyone was gathered in front of several windows that looked out over the palace steps.

He glanced at their faces and raised an eyebrow. 'Naeku looks annoyed, Astrid and Emily look amused, everyone else just looks awkward,' he muttered in his mind. 'Can't be too bad, I guess…'

"What's going on here…?" he asked curiously, stepping closer to the windows.

Everyone glanced at him in greeting, but most quickly went back to watching the commotion outside, either snickering or sighing.

"Just idiots being idiots," Naeku grumbled as one of the few to focus on Erik. Her arms were crossed in front of her furry, werepanther chest and she was obviously in a huff.

Behind her, Astrid, who'd gone back to looking outside, was sitting in the window sill and grinning widely. "Hahaha," she laughed boisterously, "you're not wrong, Naeku, but someone will still have to deal with this!"

"Hehe, yeah," Emily chuckled. She stood next to the window and looked over Astrid's shoulder with her arms crossed.

"I'd love to do it myself," she continued, an evil grin gracing her lips as a flash of sadistic desire went through her eyes. But then she sighed sadly and relaxed her body. "Unfortunately, we're not supposed to flaunt our power too much…" she grumbled while glancing at Elora.

The fairy, who'd conjured a beautiful dress around herself, stood on the other side of the window and chuckled. "Hehe, sorry, Emily. Information about the two of you is scarce, and we want to keep it that way."

With her hands crossed behind her back, she glanced at Emily and grinned. "We want the surrounding African factions to be on their toes and guessing about our true power. Right now, all the Enkarians, and thus the other faction, have only rumours about you. Which is good."

After their last battle with the hunters ended, they'd deliberately forced the attention on Erik, Ankhur, and Enkai as third rankers.

Rumours about Astrid and Emily existed simply because plenty of soldiers had seen them fight, but afterwards they'd disappeared from the battlefield. The next time they were seen was as Erik's wives during the march into the city, but not as victorious warriors.

Thus, the identity of the two female third rankers who participated in that battle—if they even existed at all—was uncertain. In the chaos of the battle, and with the distances involved, none of the soldiers could say for certain it was Emily and Astrid they'd seen that day.

"I know, I know," Emily groaned with a roll of her eyes. "It's just so boring!"

"Hehehe, don't pout, Em!" Astrid grinned, softly punching her friend's shoulder. "It's a little frustrating, but we'll have plenty of opportunities to let loose in the future! Just remember how power hungry our dear Empress is!"

"Hmpf," Elora pouted slightly. "I need to find Erik some wives who see things my way…" she grumbled softly to herself.

Right now, Astrid and Emily were focused on fighting, while Emma just wanted to take care of Erik. Finally, Naeku, their main army commander, wanted what was best for the people she ruled over most of all. None of them cared about conquest the way Elora did.

Even Erik himself was only just starting to awaken his inner desire for it. Before subjugating the Enkarians, he'd mostly gone along with Elora's plans for her sake. Only now was he starting to feel the desire to rule as well, which obviously delighted Elora, but she still wanted an ally among his wives as well.

'Maybe Katya? Or Astrid's mother, Liv?' she muttered to herself, quickly sinking into thought.

Meanwhile, Erik still had no idea what was going on, so he curiously made his way to one of the less-crowded windows and looked outside. In front of the palace, two groups of people had gathered.

They were chaotic and rowdy as they clamoured for the guards to let in their leaders. The leaders in question consisted of two young men, one for each group, as well as a stern, mature woman in front of one, and a middle-aged, irritated man in front of the other.

Erik immediately realized the latter two were both third rankers, and currently being firmly stopped by Enkai, who'd presumably made his way there from the study during Erik's confrontation with Leila, as well as a contingent of Enkarian soldiers.

"The Khumalo family, and the Ombwe Clan," Naeku scoffed. She'd followed him, and looked at the two groups with obvious disdain. "The former hails from the Free Tribes of Azania to our south, and the latter from the Packlands of Lycaonia to the west. They're both werepanther families."

Instantly, the situation clicked in Erik's mind, causing him to grin. "Ah, I see now…" he chuckled as he glanced at his fiance. "Your former suitors have come to see who dares think they can marry you after their own rejection. Perhaps they're hoping to convince you to marry them instead?"

"Hmpf, hmpf," a frustrated Naeku snorted. There was some obvious hatred filling her gaze as she looked at them. "Whatever their goal, they have a lot of nerve! It's almost impressive how they dare show up after leaving us to rot when the hunters invaded."

Grinning, Erik panned his gaze over the two groups. "Do they rule their factions?" he asked curiously.

"Pah, they wish!" Naeku scoffed, filled with ridicule. She pointed at the group headed by a mature woman. "A council of tribes rules Azania, and most of those tribes are primarily human. Shapeshifters are a minority, but not discriminated against, while vampires barely live there at all."

Then she pointed at the other group. "The Packlands, meanwhile, are ruled by a family of werepythons. Their territory consists of mainly shapeshifters, with most humans and vampires having fled persecution. The Ombwe Clan is just one of many, clamouring for the royal family's favour."

"I see," Erik grinned, before glancing at her expectantly. "So, how'd you like to deal with them?"

"Hmpf," Naeku grumbled and turned around. "I'm going to give them a piece of my mind!"